to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. mr trump has also welcomed the possibility of a global trade war. it is the latest in a series of high—profile departures from the white house. the us state department has formally confirmed that it believes the north korean government used the nerve agent, vx, to assassinate the half brother of north korea's leader, kim jong—un. kim jong—nam was attacked at malaysia's main international airport in february last year. british chemical experts are working to identify the substance blamed for poisoning a former russian spy and his daughter. the kremlin has denied any involvement and accused the media of trying to demonise russians. the british foreign secretary has called russia "a malign and disruptive force." now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. donald trump claimed he could broker

the deal of the century between israel and the palestinians. this instead, he seems to have entrenched the hostility. my guest is veteran arab israeli mp and one—time adviser to yasser arafat, ahmad tibi. is the arab—israeli experience a sign that the uneasy, messy status quo is the only viable response to the conflict between jew and arab? hardtalk theme music plays. ahmad tibi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. i think we have to start

with the impact of the donald trump presidency on relations between palestinians and israelis. would you agree that it has fundamentally changed the dynamic in the region? yes, for the negative. i think that trump and his administration promoted and promoting anarchy in the region and anarchy in the world, by supporting, enhancing, encouraging violation of the international law and adopting one side, on behalf of another. president trump, via his speech aboutjerusalem, he totally adopted the israeli narrative and the occupation narrative. to say that he and his three musketeers, advisers, who are great supporters of the settlements, adopted the talking points of benjamin netanyahu. you can make your point

about international law but surely what donald trump has actually done is recognise reality in perhaps a more honest way than previous us presidents, because the truth is it is obvious to everyone that the israeli capital is injerusalem — that's where the prime minister's office is, it's where the cabinet meets, it's where the government buildings are, and donald trump has said enough with this nonsense, let's just recognize reality. that is nonsense. because 1967, eastjerusalem was occupied in 1967, that is reality. if there is a thief in the area and he stole your house, it is a reality — you are not supposed to accept reality, as it is, legitimate fact. sure but trump did say, in the course, last december, of announcing that he would move the embassy to jerusalem — and we understand it may happen quicker than we thought, this year — he did say, i'm not prejudging what the two parties finally agree onjerusalem, they can do what they want,

they can divide it in the future as they wish, we are simply recognising what we now see to be israel's capital. he said more than that. in 1980, there was a motion, a law in the knesset, saying exactly what he said in his speech. he adopted that law of unified capital of israel — containing supreme court, the government, parliament — he adopted that phrasing, even. he did not say that eastjerusalem is an occupied area, he did not say that eastjerusalem can be or should be the capital of the palestinians, he — and this is the most dangerous thing — he is dealing with the issue of jerusalem as it is an internal issue of the israelis and it is not. the fact is, he remains the most powerful man in the world — you could perhaps argue about that,

china is a rising power but nonetheless donald trump, when it comes to the middle east, is the most important man in the world — he has made a decision which reflects the fact that, frankly, many palestinians would now acknowledge, you have lost. you have lost in the sense that your interests are never going to be achievable. i do not agree with you totally... you mean in part you do? it is one of the most toughest and difficult areas for the palestinian people, i agree with that, but we have had much more difficult phases in our history, of the palestinian history. this nation, the palestinian people, is very much insisting in implementing and achieving its national rights and it is the rights of a people under occupation

seeking to be free, to be independent, to be sovereign, alongside the state of israel, and mr trump is saying to palestinians and to israelis, you will take it all and to israelis, you will take nothing. that's why he disqualified himself as a broker. but i suppose what i am wondering is what you as an arab—israeli — and let's not forget you're an israeli citizen, you serve in the israeli knesset, the israeli parliament, you represent the interests of the arab—israeli population in israel — i wonder what you make of the reaction from hamas leaders, like ismail haniyeh, saying things like, we will not allow trump's declaration to pass even if we lose our heads in the process, all the talk of a new intifada, all the talk of palestinians putting their lives on the line to protest. we have been here so many times before, is there not now a weary resignation that says to you, in the privacy of your own mind,

there is no point any more to this sort of talk of laying down our lives, new intifadas — it's gone? i am representing the arab—palestinian minority in israel. we are part of the palestinian people. there are three parts, palestinians inside israel, the palestinians in 67 areas, and palestinians in the diaspora. but we are also citizens of the state of israel... that's right. we are supporting palestinian self—determination and this right is not negotiable, and we are, as citizens also, saying in the knesset, from the podium, i am saying exactly, in arab and english and hebrew, that we are promoting israeli—palestinian peace, we are not supporting violence, we have said it in the past always, i am supporting nonviolent popular resistance. it has succeeded in the last year when the matters were brought

in al—aqsa mosque, and it succeeded when the church closed the church because the government of israel tried to impose taxes on the christian church, injerusalem. one could say it is easy for you to talk about protest, the realityof $25.2; i mean, we have in our minds, perhaps right now, the case of ahed tamimi, the young girl, teenage girl, in the west bank village who struck out at an israeli officer because she was so angry at what the israeli troops were doing in and around her village. she is now in a court facing serious charges and may well end up in prison. you know, it is easy for you, as an arab—israeli, to say things but much more difficult for protestors in the west bank not to jeopardise their own security in this call for civil disobedience. first of all, i am accompanying

ahed tamiri in the military court... you can walk away at the end of the day, she can't. thirteen of us, stephen, were shot by snipers and killed in 2000. citizens of the state of israel because we just demonstrated against ariel sharon getting into al—aqsa mosque — 13 of us. from that point, until today, 55 arab citizens were killed by the israeli security authorities without being prosecuted. we are in danger because of the way israeli police is dealing with us as enemies not as citizens, but i am not in a position to preach to palestinians in gaza and the west bank how to resist. it is the natural way people, nation, under occupation are resisting...

it is not your fight, really... it is my nation's fight. i am a palestinian also... but you are also an israeli. you happen to have the vote, you happen to have a seat in the knesset. there is a distinction between you and those palestinians who live on the west bank, who live under military occupation and, of course, we can talk about the subset, the other palestinians who live in exile, beyond the borders... they are suffering much more. yes, but i am interested in the position of the arab israelis and it seems to me, amongst arab israelis, the overwhelming feeling right now is one of weary acceptance. if you look at opinion polls — and there have been several in the last year — which show that actually a clear majority of arab israelis have a positive feeling about their lives in israel — a positive feeling. i am smiling because i am living there. arabs, arab citizens of the state of israel, are discriminated in all fields of life and in polls —

scientific polls, not polls of israeli rightist newspapers — they are saying that they feel second or third degree. not only are they feeling the discrimination is in land allocation, budget, employment, agriculture, nonindustrial zones, we are discriminated in all fields of life. israel democracy institute ran a major poll last year — most arab israelis — 60.5% — describe their personal situation as good or very good. it does not seem to match what you are saying at all. i did not agree with these results. we are living there but there are other polls that you are not bringing here, saying that at least 75% of the arab citizens are saying that they do believe that the state is dealing with them as enemies not as equal citizens.

why do you think thousands of arabs living in jerusalem — and they have a very difficult grey area status because, in arab villages, inside israel, because of lack of planning and housing. do you know, stephen, that there is a law called community villages law, for preventing me, as an israeli citizen, arab citizen, from living in 800 community villages? i can live here in london, or in manhattan but not in these. are you saying, and using the words of that resolution from the united nations in 1975, are you saying that you still regard zionism as racism? do you believe it would be acceptable for the jewish israeli population to be in a minority? the speech of mr trump adopted the israeli narrative,

and it was a bullet in the head of the two—state solution of the two—state vision. in a state of two—state solution, it became two—state illusion. that's why there are more talk about one—state solution. you've talked about it. i talked about it. you even posited the notion that you might run for prime minister of the unitary strait from the mediterranean to thejordan river and you said, "if it was a run—off between me and mr netanyahu, i would win, no doubt about it." if this will be the case, and equal right will be there betweenjews and arabs from the sea to the river, a palestinian will win the post of the prime minister. i very advisedly asked you, can you countenance,

do you think it is in any way realistic to think that the jewish population of israel will ever accept a situation in which they are in a minority? this is a country that was set up under a un resolution, as the homeland for thejews after the second world war — you understand that, i believe, better than most arabs because you made a very famous speech understanding the impact of the holocaust on thejewish people and on the creation of the state of israel. exactly. so i put it to you again — can you imagine a unitary state where thejewish population isn't a minority? we, i, as a victim, of the victim, in that speech, can tell you that i know, i realise that for the israelis, it's a nightmare to talk about equal one democratic state. that's why, when you are giving two choices for them, two—state solution or one—state solution, they are immediately choosing the third choice, which is not there, the status quo. that's why i am staying two—state solution is the optimal solution that the international

community is supporting. but the condition is immediate ending of the occupation and israel is rearranging the occupation. but you don't just say that. you say very inflammatory things. in an interview not so long ago, you allowed your imagination to run. you said, "we will, if there is to be a unitary state, we will annul the declaration of independence from 19118. in its place, we'll write a civil declaration that represents all citizens — jews, muslims, christians." you said, "it's untenable for a democratic state to have a declaration of independence that's fundamentally jewish. " you were asked, "what would the country's name be?" you said, "i don't know. its parliament will decide." "what about the flag?" you were asked. and you said, "yes, that will have to change." now, when you say these things, how do you think israelis — jewish—israelis respond? when israelis are killing palestinians, how we would react? it's a democratic vision. i think that any democratic, in the europe, in the international community, should respect my

vision of democracy. if there will not be a two—state solution, yes, i want to be equal with israeli—jews. i want to be equal with anybody in tel aviv and nazareth. but i will never accept to be inferior to any israeli—jewjust because the state is defining itself as a jewish state. because defining yourself as jewish and democratic, it's an oxymoron, stephen. and this is an oxymoron that we are fighting against, day by day. if i may say so, it seems to me your speech was based on empathy and a genuine effort to understand the israeli mindset. one aspect of the israeli mindset is that they see, more than a decade ago, when the palestinians had a free election, that a majority, at least in gaza, voted quite clearly for hamas, a movement that is dedicated, in its original constitution, the the destruction of the state of israel. do you want new roles for a democracy?

it is election. it is democracy. palestinian people, like in england, like in germany, like in france, like even in the united states, who just elected a very bizarre president, we, palestinians, are free to elect exactly what they want — what palestinians want. and do you think the israelis are going to listen to this and your belief that, oh, the palestinians can choose hamas if they to, and still believe that there is any possible reason why they should listen to you talking about a unitary state? they can listen to me talking about two—state solution. they are not listening, neither for that, nor for that. and what is netanyahu proposing for israelis and palestinians? more and more war, more and more confrontation, more and more friction, more and more bloodshed. i am proposing peace, i am proposing freedom for palestinians and peace for israelis and palestinians. it is challenging. it is. if you wanted to build some bridges and build confidence, there are certain things you could do. i mean, for a start, you could denounce your fellow arab—israeli member who is now in prison because he was smuggling telephones to palestinian prisoners.

what did you make of what he did, and how disappointed were you in him? the 13 mks of thejoint list, all of us, are not using this way of struggle in order to act as parliamentarians. it is not the way. he said so. his colleagues said so. we, myself and others said so, and he is paying the price in the jail. why did you boycott shimon peres‘s funeral? because i carried my condolences to his daughter... no, you didn't go to the funeral. even mahmoud abbas went to the funeral. i'm just wondering, again, what kind of signal you're sending to the israelis? stephen, am i obliged to act exactly as the consensus, the israeli consensus is demanding from me? that is a historical problem. i can understand israelis, when they cannot do something that hurt their feelings. please understand our feeling as national leaders. ijust wonder whether you paid heed to the words of the first arab—israeli to be a supreme court justice, and that in itself tells you something about

the israeli system. salim joubran — he served in the supreme court, he was proud to do so, and when he — toward the time he was leaving, he said, "yes, i complain a lot about the state of israel, its treatment of arab—israelis, but i'm also complaining about us, the leaders of the arab community. we must take responsibility and handle problems." hasn't he got a point there? that you spend so much time grandstanding about the long—term prospects for a peaceful solution between palestinian and israeli, you don't actually spend very much time trying to deliver a better life for your constituent. you were mistaken, stephen, because according to the statistics and numbers of the activity, 85% of our activity is focused on social and economical issues of our community, and there is misleading coverage of our activity. yes, we are responsible for the well—being of our community. we should be much more interested, focusing, acting in the issue, for example, of internal violence in our community,

which is almost devastating. it's a scourge, particular violence against women inside arab—israeli communities. and who is taking part in every demonstration against that? who should emotion against that, who should emotion against using weapon in community events? myself, that's who. and i guess, what the israelis, i can hear the voices in my head — israelis watching this will say yes, and you're much freer to make those sorts of protests and to demand better from the community inside israel than you would be if you are living in a village in the west bank or, indeed, a different arab country. say it — in syria or in libya. say it. well, i...you can say it.

it's a racist notice. you know why? because to tell, ahmad, that because i am arab, i should move to syria as they are demanding, day by day, or i should compare myself to third world countries, none democratic, totalitarian regimes, when israel is claiming that it is democracy, the control group and the control state, stephen, should be sweden, france, england. not libya, not syria, not third states, third world states in africa or south america. i want to be equal, exactly like citizens in tel aviv and i do not want to be compared with totalitarian regimes, but with democratic states. it is the test. can you accept the idea that an israeli citizen who is arab is willing to be equal? it's a good way to end this interview. ahmad tibi, thank you very much for being on hardtalk. thank you. thank you very much. hello again. it felt like we had two different seasons across the uk yesterday,

north to south. across northern areas in scotland, we had heavy snow causing transport disruption again. and temperatures struggled to get much above freezing. whereas further south, 11 degrees celsius and, indeed, we had some cloud breaks. and with the light winds around, it didn't feel too bad at all where the sunshine bothered breaking through. further north in scotland, though, it was another snow day, particularly over the high ground, and that snow again caused problems through those higher central belt motorways. now, looking at the weather picture at the moment, the last of the snow clearing away from the north highlands, but aside from that, we've got some clearer slots around. so a colder start to the day with a few frost patches around. a little bit of ice is a possibility first thing in the morning. certainly, a chilly start to the day for most of us. and then all eyes down towards the south—east, really. you've got a little area of low pressure that's moving in. now, there's a bit of uncertainty with this rain. but it could end up being much more extensive across south—east england and east anglia, and slower to move away as well. so that's a possibility. but either way, by the time we get to the afternoon, the cloud should be breaking up.

further north and west, we've got a few showers, they'll be wintry over the high ground, but the weather not causing too many problems. a few showers later in the day, arriving across the south—west, but for many areas, cloud will break at times to give some sunny spells. temperatures coming up in scotland. we're looking at highs of 6 in edinburgh and aberdeen. further south, temperatures again just about reaching double figures in the afternoon brightness. you might remember thursday was going to be a dry day, but there's been a big jump in the weather forecast, and now, we've got a band of rain and perhaps even a bit of hill snow working across wales and england first thing in the morning. if the precipitation is heavy, might even get something wintry for a time over the midlands. but that is uncertain kind of detailjust at the moment. there will be some further wintry showers coming in across the north—west of the uk and temperatures ranging from 6 to 10 degrees, many areas brightening up as we go on through the afternoon. for friday, a fairly quiet weather day coming up. north—westerly breeze for many areas and after a cold start to the day, we should see some sunny spells coming through.

it will cloud over towards the south—west as a band of rain approaches here, and clouding over in london as well. temperatures, though, not doing too badly — highs of 11 or so. looking ahead to the weekend weather prospects, this area of low pressure is going to push a band of rain northwards across england and wales, and the cold air is still there, so we could just about see a spell of snow over some of the higher hills, the northern pennines and perhaps into parts of scotland as well. but it will be turning milder all the while. that's your weather. this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: british chemical experts are working out what caused the injuries to a russian former spy and his daughter. the state department confirms that north korea used the nerve agent, vx, to kill the half—brother

of kimjong—un, in malaysia last year. and the muse behind the masterpieces. a new exhibition in london takes a close look, at the woman who inspired some of picasso's greatest work. the white house's top economic advisor steps down. just hours after president trump stands firm on imposing tariffs on steel and aluminium. in business briefing we'll be live to brussels for the latest on europe's reaction to trumps tariff plans.